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Natural hazards · North Adams

North Adams, MA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in North Adams comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 12 claims here since 1980. 9 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

FEMA National Risk Index, December 2025 · OpenFEMA claims, aid & declarations
Expected damage

How exposed is North Adams?

82
Very high
vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in North Adams to be higher than in 82% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding87%Everything else13%
By hazard

What North Adams faces

Each hazard’s share of the damage FEMA expects here, and how that compares with the rest of the country.

Inland flooding

87% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 95% of U.S. places
Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesTornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightningAvalanches

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingDroughtTsunamisVolcanic activity
Flood risk changes street by street. Check a specific address on FEMA’s flood map, and ask about flood insurance before you buy.
Flood insurance claims

Does North Adams flood?

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in North Adams, from FEMA’s records.

12paid claims since 1980
$302Kpaid to owners
1homes flooded more than once
19802026

Biggest named events

  • Hurricane Irene: 8 claims, $110K

Homes that flooded again and again

■ FEMA “severe repetitive loss” (0) ■ flooded 2+ times

of all homes
are insured
No community discount. North Adams isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Berkshire County.
Disasters that hit North Adams

9 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

Disasters the President declared that paid out in North Adams itself: aid to households, or repair grants to the City of North Adams.

Brought FEMA money into North AdamsDeclared for Berkshire County only
2013

Severe Winter Storm, Snowstorm, and Flooding

$33K to the City of North Adams for repairs
2011

Severe Storm and Snowstorm

$20K to the City of North Adams for repairs
2011

Tropical Storm Irene

34 households applied for aid $65K aid approved $383K to the City of North Adams for repairs
2011

Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm

$57K to the City of North Adams for repairs
2007

Severe Storms and Inland and Coastal Flooding

$3K to the City of North Adams for repairs
2005

Severe Storms and Flooding

1 household applied for aid $4K aid approved $35K to the City of North Adams for repairs
2005

Record And/Or Near Record Snow

$42K to the City of North Adams for repairs
2003

Snow

$61K to the City of North Adams for repairs
2001

Snow

$27K to the City of North Adams for repairs
Berkshire County has had 19 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often hurricanes and winter storms.
Around North Adams

North Adams and the towns around it

Clarksburg: High, mostly inland floodingWilliamstown: High, mostly inland floodingAdams: Very high, mostly inland floodingFlorida: Low, mostly inland floodingStamford: High, mostly inland floodingNew Ashford: Low, mostly inland floodingNorth Adams: Very high, mostly inland flooding North AdamsClarksburgWilliamstownAdams
Very lowLowModerateHighVery high
Adamsmostly inland floodingVery high
North Adamsmostly inland floodingVery high
Williamstownmostly inland floodingHigh
Clarksburgmostly inland floodingHigh
About these numbers

How to read this page

An average, not a forecastFEMA’s National Risk Index estimates the damage 18 kinds of natural hazards cause in a typical year, from decades of records and models. A quiet decade can follow a bad year.
Compared by rate“Higher than N%” compares yearly damage as a share of what’s here, so a big city isn’t rated riskier just for having more buildings. North Adams covers 4 census tracts, combined by population.
Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to North Adams’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of North Adams. FEMA’s model follows property values, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels.

FEMA’s expected losses across North Adams total about $6.6M a year, counting buildings, people and crops.

Sources: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025); OpenFEMA: NFIP redacted claims, multiple-loss properties, community status book and residential penetration rates, housing assistance (owners and renters), public assistance funded projects, hazard mitigation properties and disaster declarations. Census tracts: U.S. Census Bureau.

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